Neo Arcadia was burning. An explosion at the core soon engulfed the entire metal fortress in flames, Neo Arcadian soldiers fled like blue rats from a sinking ship, and the brave green soldiers of the Resistance watched from a safe distance. Slowly, the flame-tongues lick the blue sky, spewing black smoke into the air. Ten thousand Neo Arcadian troopers had been trapped inside Ft. Manhattan when Operation: "Black Beard" was executed; now, fire reaped the platoons inside, and their burning oil-blood, ripped their fortress apart, room-by-flame-wreathed-room.

The year was 22XX and X was no where to be found. His old battle comrade, Zero, the legendary red Reploid, was now a part of the Resistance against Neo Arcadia. He watched as the blue fortress turned red with fire, his memories of X all but forgotten. Zero had saved the Resistance from Neo Arcadia's "Devil Project." The sun set behind the burning fortress, the sky became dark.

Zero walked away, his joint ached from battle and panted heavily, feeding his circuits starved for oxygen. He didn't notice the blue android bird perched on the snarled rooted, leafless tree, turning its head slightly from side-to-side, its pulsing red eye locked on to the Reploid hero. Its servos stirred, and then with a flutter, the red-eyed glider took flight.

The rebels piled into a reconnaissance vehicle and returned to base. The Resistance had moved again, this time setting their operations in the ruins of Neo-Eden; their fortress hidden amongst the moss covered remains that had once been a Human-Reploid paradise.

Eighty years ago, Neo-Eden was a flourishing metropolis. The tale goes that a miraculous, unexplainable vaccine had existed there. Though there are no medical records left from that era, so the Neo-Eden vaccine was an established legend. How else could a human-reploid city last for fifty years? Now, all that was left in the tangled ruins of that paradise, the solitary clue left behind by its people, was the Spire of Knowledge. Somewhere, locked in the digital past of the silver obelisk, people believed the truth about the "sudden disappearance," was hidden.

When the reploid Hero arrived at the resistance base smiling faces greeted his return. Zero was not a pride driven reploid, thus a heart-filled smile or brotherly pat-on-the-back from his resistance comrades was the simple reward he needed. Still drained from the narrow escape from the Neo-Arcadia stronghold, the red reploid made his way to the recovery room to recharge his energy tank.

Waiting for him in the dark room, lit dimly by the blinking lights of the recovery equipment, was a scientist with long blonde hair, Ciel, the mother of the resistance. "Zero…" she spoke meekly, "thank you. We managed to stop the Devil Project, so the resistance is safe again because of you. For now, please rest for a while." The resistance hero complied, and after entering the energy capsule, the good woman let the warrior recuperate.

The year is 22XX, and on the evening of a warm summer day, the resistance had extended their lives by halting the Neo-Arcadia war machine. It had been 3 years since Zero had changed the face of the war, and resistance soldiers couldn't be happier. Neo-Arcadia, however, was running out of ways to eradicate the "Extremists."

----------

One uncommonly cold morning a foreboding storm began to blow across the yellow plains of Neo-Eden. A chilling wind filled the corridors of the Resistance base as the rebel scouts brought a strange reploid, broken down from wandering, that had blown in with the storm from the north. The resistance soldiers placed the frost-covered reploid in the care of Cerveu, the resistance technician, and therefore Reploid-Doctor.

Ever the forward-thinker, Cerveu stood over the disjoined pieces of his patient, It was just as I predicted, he said to himself. Staring back at him from under the strange reploid's arm brace was the familiar blue mark: "Neo-X," the emblem of Neo-Arcadia. Just then, Ciel and Zero entered, Cerveu looked at them coldly, "It's the enemy," he muttered. He then handed the disjoined reploid arm to the young woman, "What do you want to do?" he asked

Ciel gazed at the azure emblem and her face washed overt with guilt as her minded flooded with images of the explosions, destruction, and corruption that were the current state of the war. She was, in a way, the mother of the Resistance, and the reason why the war kept going on.

Nearly 200 years ago, human ingenuity reached it apex as scientist suddenly announced the discovery of a new source of energy called Energy Crystals. Refined from a newly discovered "X-Element" on the frontier planet "X," Energy crystals replaced fossil fuels on Earth. With a new "clean-burning, efficient" fuel, humans began to restore the Earth from the damage wrought by the after effects of fossil fuels. The planet's energy needs were finally met, despite the fact that one nation held a monopoly of Energy Crystals.

One hundred years ago, Reploids began to inhabit the planet, powered by the wonderful, presumably endless supply of Energy Crystals. Crystals were considered eternal because of the fact that on every other product they powered (automobiles, computers, airplanes, machinery, etc.) a crystal could be removed and reused after the machine was considered obsolete. Yet, strangely, after an undeterminable amount of time inside of a reploid, the Crystals would cease to work on any other machine.

Problems escalated as more Reploids came into the world. Newer Reploids started to require more Energy Crystals to function, and some, started to need to have their crystals replaced to continue functioning. Finally, Maverick uprisings would destroy hundreds-of-thousands Reploids, leaving behind tons of unusable metal and crystals in their wake. Even the invention of synthetic Crystals could not alleviate the energy problems. By the end of the Elf Wars, the world was in an energy crisis once again.

That was until one year ago, when Ciel achieved the fruits of her labor in alternate energy studies. She succeeded in creating Elf Crystals, a new type of synthetic Crystal forged under the radiation of a Cyber Elf. The news of her success would have put a halt to Neo-Arcadia's relentless pursuit of the Rebellion, who, 6 years prior, had stolen a Crystal synthesizer and were living outside of the Energy Perimeter Law. Energy Crystals were primarily for human consumption under Neo-Arcadia, needed to power the domes to shield the humans from the harsh surface of the earth. After her discovery, X himself contacted Dr. Ciel in hopes of coming to an agreement. Ciel refused, sighting the Omega incident as cause for not trusting him. Since then, Neo-Arcadia strengthened its resolve to hunt down and retire the monopolizing Extremists.

By simply complying with X's demands, what was being called "The Third Elf War," would have ended. Matters for the Resistance seemed to be getting worse, even Zero, who was standing next to her, was kept functional by an Elf Crystal.

Her situation was vexing; she pondered it while Cerveu waited for her answer. For certain, this was a spy sent by Neo-Arcadia or maybe a suicide bomber and she knew they would never return a captured spy peacefully. And, yet, she knew that was not how she liked the Resistance to behave. They could not act like the empire.

Before she could say a word, the young scientist felt Zero's assuring hand on her back. "Leave it to me, I'll return him in one piece," he said, with no doubt about her thoughts.

----------

As Zero stood before his new companion, two things struck him as odd. Firstly, what was the use of buffing his charge's emerald armor, if it was going to be tarnished again by the dusty winds as they charged across the desert? Secondly, why couldn't Cerveu fix its voice box? Where did the technology in the Reploid's throat come from?

Leaving those thoughts aside, it suddenly sunk in how very strange he felt being in disguise. It was hazardous to escort the stranger to the boarder of Neo-Arcadia in his familiar red armor, which was why he had to wear a cheap-looking blue armor, soldered together from scrapped drones. Strangest of all was the feeling of having his hair braided then curled into a bun on the back of his head, then forcefully jammed into a blue helmet that felt a size too small.

Pulling on a dirty, brown cloak to shield his joints from wayward sand, he signaled to the stranger to join him on the back of his jet-cycle. When the stranger put his arms around Zero, the sensation made him tense; the legendary hunter had never let anyone get too near, after a second his unease went away. "Stranger's not a very endearing name," he suddenly thought out-loud, and he searched his shredded memories for a name that reflected his young reploid traveling companion. Then in the corner of his mind he found a dusty old name that he could not recall why he never spoke it again, so he named him, "Middy. That's what I'll call you." And his mute companion nodded in agreement.

--- --- ---

Across the yellow plains, then over the desert of white sand, the golden-haired warrior dexterously weaved his jet-cycle, evading every obstacle without a second glance. Within half-a-day's travel, Zero and Middy arrived at the edge of Neo-Arcadia territory. They came to a slow stop, as they approached a platoon of blue X-Drones.

"This is as far as I can take you," said Zero, he signaled Middy to get down. "Simply follow the drones back to their recognizance vehicle, and they'll take you to Neo-Arcadia from there."

The dusty emerald reploid glanced vacantly back at his escort, then glanced towards the drones that had finally taken notice of the two hooded strangers and were cautiously marching closer with weapons in tow, and seemed perplexed. Soon, the platoon stood beside the legendary reploid and his silent companion anxiously clutching their weapons, unsure of what was occurring. The two parties fell deafly silent, and the air grew tense, with only the slight rap of the drones' fingers as they nervously tapped their weapons was heard.

The drone commander jerked his head in the direction of his platoon, then with a series of random clicks and whistles, ordered his metallic puppets to put down their weapons. Directing more clicks and beeps at the nervous emerald reploid, the Drone commander seemed to ask the foreigner to follow him. A tortoise shaped vehicle phased in behind them, completely unnoticed until it had decloaked, the Drone commander once again urged Middy to follow. The unsure reploid looked back at his escort, Zero weighed in his mind how inevitable their departure was and said simply, "Go."

Middy joined the platoon of blue drones, looking back only to spew wayward sparks from his mouth, as if to tell his dusty companion, "Thank you."

Vanishing into the whirling, dusty winds, the drone's armored tortoise cloaked and took with them the reploid wanderer. In the vast desert wasteland, where mavericks use to rage, the golden haired warrior had completed his mission and began his lonely trip home.

--- ---- ---

Piloting his jet-cycle over the hot desert sands, Zero reached the White Plains, the last stretch of land before returning home, when out of the cloudless sky came an unwelcome guest. Riding on what looked like a green metal falcon, Harpuia, Guardian of X, swooped down and landed infront of Zero. Halting his jet-cycle before he collided with the guardian's falcon, the legendary hunter did his best to hide his Z-Sabre in the palm of his hand, ready to strike.

"Zero," the guardian called out, and the disguised reploid leapt off his vehicle, igniting his saber. "Put away your weapon, I'm not on any mission." He said, Zero turned off his saber and did not put bother to put it away, just in case. The legendary reploid then cast off his all too tight helmet letting his braided golden hair fall free, and was face-to-face with his enemy. "I'm not going to ask why you're so close to Neo-Arcadia territory."

"What are you doing in the Neutral Zone?!" Zero retorted.

The green guardian had no worthwhile answer, "There have been rumors that soldiers from Neo-Babylon have been spotted in this area. Have you seen any strange drones around here?"

"How should I know what they look like?" the resistance hero replied.

"They look like X-Drones, with purple tiger stripes, and usually travel in small cells of six."

"Can't say that I have," Zero answered dryly.

"Well, if you find them," Harpuia grabbed the reigns of his falcon, "slay them. They're too dangerous to be left alive."

Once the soldier of the empire was out of sight, Zero could no longer lie to himself; those drones that had taken Middy were from Neo-Babylon. Although, Neo-Arcadia had not given any reason for him to believe them, there was a slight chance the guardian was telling the truth. The legendary reploid continued his trek back to Neo-Eden.

--------

Deep in the halls of the Resistance base of Neo-Eden, in a closet they jokingly called "The Dining Room," sitting on a wobbly chair next to a makeshift table, a white bearded reploid sage eat his slightly rancid tomato soup. A small, child reploid accompanied the old man, sitting across the table, waiting for her, "grandpa" to finish and tell her more stories about "the old days," when "Repliroids" were free. Zero entered the dining room, seeking out the kindly, sage Andrew. He tasseled the girl's yellow hair, and then signaled her to skip away, which she did.

His spoon clattered as he slurped up the last bit of his soup, "What brings you here, Zero?" old Andrew finished his meal, and then slowly rose from his seat to place the grubby dish in the sink. Humble as he was, the red reploid snatched the bowl from the old man and proceeded to wash it himself and spare Andrew's aching joints.

"I need to know about Neo-Babylon." Zero admitted. The white bearded reploid was not surprised; many of the young resistance members came to him when they wanted to hear about what was beyond the harsh desert sands of Neo-Arcadia. He remembered the blue sky, rolling clouds. During the warm summer's evenings, the old reploid imagined the soft earth beneath his feet, and could nearly smell the wildflowers in the air. Winters took him back to that cold and dark apartment, where there was only just the two of them. Memories of a forgotten world that only existed in the past.

"It's south from here." The sage simply answered.

"No," Zero sighed, "Do they have an army? How fierce are they?" The old reploid leaned on his cane with one hand, while wrapping his beard around his finger in the other.

"They can't." he finally spoke, "In fact, it's illegal for them to have one."

In the first quarter of the 22nd century, a new world power suddenly took center stage. A mysterious nation was formed in the dead of the night, and for the greater part of 21XX, it was referred to by the rest of the world as "the lawless land."

Neo-Babylon was the haven for exiles, and the depraved practitioners of "godless" science. When the rest of the world functioned on a strongly religious moral code, Neo-Babylon offered a land free of persecution. Besides that, "the devil's kingdom on earth" offered a home to drug cartels, money laundering schemes, mafiosos, yakuza, weapons trading deals, thievery of all degrees, and just about every taboo known to man. On the other hand, miscreants and all other social outcasts lived happily in Neo-Babylon, free from the judging eyes that viewed their lifestyle as unnatural.

Finally, in what advocates were calling "The Last Crusade," the state of sin was confronted by the full force of the World Government, surrounding the continent-nation with their naval fleets. To their surprise, Neo-Babylon was utterly unconquerable, their defenses fueled by the evil science that exiles had made by casting off their moral restraints. After their crushing, public defeat, diplomats drafted a treaty that allowed Neo-Babylon to peacefully exist. Behind the political jargon, the agreement stipulated that Neo-Babylon would have no standing army and remain neutral in all wars. In exchange, the rest of the world government wouldn't resort to extreme measures, an empty threat that Neo-Babylonian diplomats could see through but agreed to.

After the Elf War ravaged most of the world, moralists breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was a gift from the heavens above that would finally sink Neo-Babylon into chaos and destruction, and wipe away the black smudge from the globe. On the contrary, the nation of thieves arose miraculously from the ashes of the earth, as a new leader seamlessly rose to power, as if he had been the real, undisputed King of Neo-Babylon: Megaman Beelzebub.

Beelzebub transformed the Nation of Sin into interweaved syndicates of deals. No murder was ever committed without a paper trail, and the only crimes were crimes against the king. In the black market, in the hidden undercities, secrets and murder are sold by the bottle.

"I haven't been there since the king took power, but back then, if you're looking for answers, you'd go to the Forum in Sodom's undercity."

"Thank you, Andrew; this may be the help I need."

"And, Zero, I hear Beelzebub is a Soldier of Light."

Throughout the world, the population of artificial beings is comprised primarily by two classes: the Soldiers of Light and the Soldiers of Crystal. These are simply fancy titles created by artificials that often mean nothing more than Android and Reploid. Of course, they're all Reploids to humans.

What all this had to do with the situation didn't interest Zero, the legendary hunter only understood he had a new mission to complete. Thanking the old sage once again, the red reploid ducked out of the dining room, hoping to slip onto his jet-cycle unnoticed.

Zero would have slinked away unnoticed, if a little yellow-haired birdie hadn't taddled on him. Waiting for the legendary hunter in the resistance transport hangar was the young scientist who had first sought out a hero some years ago.

"Zero," she called out to him, trying her best to hold back her tears, "you were planning on leaving again."

"This isn't any of the Resistance business! I've got my own mistakes to correct," he made his way past her and spotted his cycle.

"At least take some of our soldiers with you!" she pleaded, but the red reploid waved that idea.

"I can't be watching them in the place I'm going; they'll just slow me down. Besides, you'll need all the help you can get if Neo-Arcadia shows up." The champion of the Resistance sat atop his jet-cycle, checking the last of his supplies before he flew. "My mission, yesterday, was to return Middy to Neo-Arcadia which failed. Now, I gotta get him back and try again."

"You don't have to do this, you know!" She pleaded, yet again, "If X wants him that badly, he can get him himself!"

"I'm going, and there's nothing you can say to stop me!" he lashed out. The human scientist clutched her heart and looked away, trying her best to not let the reploid's cold, steely words hurt her. The flushed look on Ciel's face made Zero choice his words, speaking softly, trying not to dash her feelings any more, "I'll be back, don't you worry," he paused and revved his jet-cycle, "even if I have to walk through hell to get here."

And with a burst of speed, the golden haired warrior flew off into the horizon, just as dawn began to break. In 22XX, Neo-Arcadia and a small band of rebels are locked in a war. Further south from both of them, Neo-Babylon watches carefully as the pieces of the global game of chess begin to move. The legendary hunter is heading down to Hell, a place that humans believe the origin of all evil resides.

-------

To the south, his mission awaits. Zero, the legendary Maverick Hunter, had left his familiar grounds and was heading towards the unknown. Following Andrew's directions, his destination was the Forum in Sodom; to get to Neo-Babylon in the first place, the red reploid first had to cross the only bridge to the kingdom of vice, a bridge called the "Sleeping Britt."

Surrounding the mouth of the bridge, a town had sprung up. In the Neutral Zone, communities were founded where prosperity was simplest; the economic opportunity to monopolize the entrance to Neo-Babylon was simplest of all. In short time, this one town would grow into a city, and then to a much larger city, until finally it would get annex by one of the eight powers. Slowing down as he traversed the simple town, Zero realized how seldom he thought about peace, and how a reploid could live a normal life without war.

Taking a moment to weigh his decision, the crimson colored reploid stood at the entrance of the Sleeping Britt. The bridge was a modern marvel of the time that revolutionized how teleporters worked. Back in 21XX, a space colony fell onto the planet Earth, forever altering the atmosphere and crippling the world's geography into a twisted joke. Humans called it "the End of the World," for Reploids it was simply "the Eurasia Incident." Gradually, the ability to teleport, which was Earthlings fastest means of conveyance, dwindled down to nothing. The Sleeping Britt changed the way teleporters were designed by sending transmission data horizontally across the earth, instead of vertically through space satellites. The eerie green glow that came from inside the bridge was the secret to the wonder. Inside the bridge, matter was transformed into data, then whizzed across the digital wormhole, and reassembled into matter on the other side. Modern teleporters no longer need the physical bridge to transport passengers, but the Sleeping Britt remains a monument to ingenuity.

Paying the toll to use the bridge, Zero directed his vehicle to the transmission chamber, where he and a cluster of other passengers were digitized. Arriving on the other side of the bridge in a matter of minutes, Zero found himself thousands of miles south of where he was seconds ago. The grand border station of Neo-Babylon was a sight to be seen, or at least a shock to the systems, it was nothing like the wandering reploid had envisioned. For the entrance to the "Kingdom of Hell," the place was surprisingly structured; it looked like any normal boarder. The legendary hunted didn't want to see depravity around every corner, but after the horror stories Andrew told, the spotless, offices and uniformed clad attendees had him disillusioned. Perhaps the Forum didn't exist anymore.

Being a first-timer, and the tourism secretaries knew this because of a secret, detailed index that was kept of all the visitors, the legendary Maverick Hunter was quickly filed into one of the awaiting offices.

Standing in front of the golden haired warrior was a polite, upright young woman with shoulder length red hair that he was pretty sure was a reploid. She seemed genuinely kind, but little did he know that the other forty-two secretaries on the premises looked exactly like her. They all had non-threatening names like, "Sherry," "Mary," "Gaby" etc. Did they all have different personalities? Well, no, not during office hours.

"Hi, my name is Stacy and I'll be your travel secretary." She introduced herself energetically, then slid down into her chair, where she cradled her head in her hands as her arms rested on her desk peppered with pictures and stuffed animals. "What is the purpose of your visit?"

Zero thought she was a little strange, but non-threatening and figured the less she knew the better, "I'm here to see Sodom."

"Yes!" she squealed gleefully, "Sodom is so peaceful this time of the year," in fact, the red reploid had arrived at the end of Neo-Babylon's tourist season, "and we've got teleporters ready to beam your directly there."

"Perfect," the legendary hunter turned towards the door, "I'll get going then."

"I'm sorry, but you can't leave yet" the door closed abruptly, Zero returned to the presence of the young secretary. "We've still got lots of papers to sign." The red haired attendant then subjugated the legendary Maverick Hunter to the bureaucratic process of registering a visitor.

After an hour of signing and initialing, Zero was finally let go with a visitor's card and registration sticker for his vehicle. The standing guards rudely ushered him and his jet-cycle to cylindrical teleporter. With a green flash, the golden haired warrior vanished.

Zero reappeared a couple hundred miles inland at the center of Sodom, the megacity of Neo-Babylon. The streets were strangely empty, only the wind traveled the urban streets of Sodom, the largest city in the concrete garden of indulgence. Hardly a day into his travels and the champion of the resistance could nearly see his goal in the distance; he simply had to wait for passage into the undercity.

--------

The year is 22XX and as the sun's last twilight cascades over Neo-Babylon, the legendary Maverick Hunter awaits entrance to the subterranean undercity. When the stars in the night sky fade into view, the gate slides slowly open. At the bottom of the winding staircase is the sleeping world of Neo-Babylon, where the real economy takes place. The undercity was a mirror world of Sodom's daily routine, the streets were flooded with merchants and visitors buying and selling all sorts of trinkets and questionable merchandise, while the noise pollution was enough to muddle the air with incomprehensible babble.

Megaman Beezlebub's City Police that patrolled the Upperworld had given the crimson slayer directions to the Forum. Sodom was the largest city in the country and under military control ever since the Syndicate War from the Undercity spiked up and threatened the city's mega structures. The white and black Babylon Drones gave the red reploid a tip that the chorus of the Forum was hard to miss, sure enough, like a wasp's nest made of steel and wires, the Forum hung over the Undercity like a creeping mold.

I guess I have my work cut out for me, he thought to himself. This is getting really irritating, staring and stopping like a red rat in a mechanical maze.

Entering the forum was relatively easy; the real a problem was weaving through the crowded city streets. Around every corner someone tried to sell him something, or a tawdry, young female tried to offer the handsome, virile hero a good time. Along the way, the Resistance Champion was nearly executed from behind, but when his assailant spotted his registration number, he excused himself and sank back into the shadows of the Undercity. The killing of a wrongful target would result in expensive clean-up fees and a relentless siege from the Law-Punks, mechaloid lawyers, of the Twister Syndicate.

Zero finally entered the building of the Forum. While not as rigid or methodical as the buildings in the Upperworld, entering the Forum was an orderly experience. Moving walkways shepherd the red reploid and other forum goers into harmless cocoon-like glass pods. Surrounding them was the colossal Wall of Knowledge, a conclave of hundreds of reploids hanging like ornaments of sapphire and gold inside the metal hive.

Within his crystal cubicle, the golden haired warrior was greeted by an automated display which helped him navigate the installation process to join with the great link. The Forum was possibly the greatest gift for Neo-Babylon society, an endowment from the-powers-that-be they all thought. Once inside, the individual's conscience was showered with enough information to overwhelm his systems, freeing the spirit from the body, enabling the psyche to join a great link and swim in the boundless knowledge pool.

While the most citizens considered the Forum to be recreational, attending the Forum was mandated by the government at least once a week for an individual. In reality, the hive was the government secret police of its own people. When a reploid joined the conclave, their serial-number, along with their personal information were recorded and indexed in a database hidden deep in the Neo-Babylon badlands. Once a part of the Forum, all of that person's knowledge was poured to the data pool where anyone could read it, if they could find it.

For Zero, his next step was to sift through the sands and discover where they had taken his emerald colored friend. The sensation as he became one with the chorus was like noting he had ever experienced before. It was as thought he was being bathed in a wondrous white light, until the warm incandescent rays waxed off his mortal coil, and his essence sprung from his body into the watery glow of pure data. Once the legendary hunter had transcended into the Forum's pool of knowledge, he was engulfed a stream of consciousness, so much so that Zero did not understand where his mind ended and another's began.

The Forum was not kind to first-timers. Taking his time to focus, Zero recalled the instructions of the automated display. The simplest way to find information was to think about what he was trying to find. So he thought aloud, "What does anybody know about an emerald colored reploid that they caught in Neo-Arcadia?"

Within an instant, his mind was flooded, yet again by a deluge of data relating to Neo-Arcadia, armor sales, military court-marshals, and off-the-record recognizance missions. When, out of the ether, a voice reaches out to the legendary hero.

"Greetings, Megaman Zero, I have the data you are looking for. Follow my link, if you wish to learn more." The message ended, the red reploid took some time to organize his thoughts, and push as far out the other minds which tried to meld with his own.

I couldn't get a more obvious lead, he thought. By electing to follow the link on the message, Zero's essence was pulled across the ether with tremendous force. In an instant, he felt his body weighed down again, as a result of being plucked from the embrace of the knowledge pool, he awoke in a daze and took a minute to readjust himself.

Wherever the legendary warrior had arrived he could gamble he was deeper into Sodom's undercity. The lid of the transmission pod opened, unveiling the dark-lit chamber of the lurking informant. Zero exited the pod and stepped closer to his host, a beautiful, androgenus reploid with long silky white hair framing his face and a dark-blue business suit. His host looked Zero over once and gave him a sheepish smile, then called his visitor closer.

"Megaman Zero," his soft, somewhat-masculine voice only further disguised his gender, "we've been expecting you since you entered Neo-Babylon."

"Then you could have saved me the trouble and told me what I needed to know then, instead of making me go up and down this crazy place."

"I'm supposed to show you a good time,"

"Cut the crap, and tell me what you've done with my green-colored friend!" he demanded. The white haired industrialist sighed; their time together was being tragically cut short.

"Your jade partner is located in the fortress city called Gomorrah." The golden haired warrior turned towards the transporter pod.

"Then get me back to Sodom, so I can get on my way!"

"We're still in Sodom," he reached out his arms invitingly, "but Zero, wouldn't you like to take a better look around?" The ex-Maverick Hunter angrily flung one the adorner lamps which were within his reach and the room grew slightly darker. "Don't forget to visit, next time you're in town." He sheepishly added.

Unbending, Zero marched out of the Undercity and headed east to Gomorrah, the Silver City, capital of Neo-Babylon. At the dawn of the second day of his travels, already his goal was within sight. Somewhere inside the fortress city, his companion was being held. But, as the crimson hero would soon realize, when you travel into Hell, there is no place to go but further down.

--------

--------

The year is 22XX, and in the center of Neo-Babylon is the great fortress city, Gomorrah. The powerful, military city is the throne of its unopposed ruler. Zero, champion of the resistance, had lead a silent vigil of the fortress since it had appeared in the horizon. After hours of vigilance, the legendary Maverick Hunter resolved to venture closer. To his surprise, it seemed he had been expected here as well.

Zero could not believe what he was seeing; the drones were bowing to him, all of them neatly in a row, bowing in unison like it was their programming. He approached carefully, keeping in mind that the drones could have blasters built into their armor. The red reploid ventured closer than he had ever chanced before, close enough to read the small serial number printed on the side of the drone's head and catch his own reflection in the polished steel. Then, for a second, the drone he so strongly scrutinized seemed to twitch, like a human that had held its breath for too long.

"Megaman Zero!" a voice suddenly cut across the silver fortress like a spell that split the heavens. Zero turned and saw an enchanting reploid vixen, more alluring than he had ever seen before. She had dark-eyes and jet-black hair down to her shoulders, an ample, black breast-plate that matched her high-heel boots and arm-bands that artistically counterbalanced her white synthetic-skin. The reploid Venus was a siren that captured Zero with her soft, enthralling voice and inviting half-smile. She called him closer with her fingers pulling at his heart strings, and then glided back into the silver stronghold with the resistance hero trailing close behind.

Zero could not have pulled his eyes off her if he tried; the anonymous reploid leading him was a feast for starving eyes. But his conscious reminded him of all that Andrew had said, and yet, Neo-Babylon had never gotten involved between the Resistance and Neo-Arcadia. He began a wide range scan of the fortress trying to look ahead for any traps or ambushes that she might be leading him to. Suddenly, an inexplicable electromagnetic wave crashed on to his systems, flooding his sensors and clouding his vision, until he was swimming in a white haze barely able to see the dark, raven haired reploid stride in front of him.

Keeping his composure, Zero followed the reploid vixen across the castle's brilliant white passages dotted with vague blue and purple blurs, more drones just outside of the visitor's shrunken field of vision. Together they stepped on to an elevator that proceeded to take them upwards, and as the lift climbed steadily, a piercing ultrasonic pitch bombarded him, trying to irradiate what was left of his sensors. The red reploid became on edge, seconds more of the excruciating tone and he would dig his saber into the sides of his cranium and fish out his audio-receptors. As if that would have helped. In a final move of desperation, he shut-off his scanners and it was done. The entire ordeal left Zero disoriented, physically and mentally exhausted, and taking quick and shallow breaths.

His field of vision began to clear up on time for his hostess to escort him off the elevator. The tour shortly ended as they passed the threshold to a cavernous white room. At the room's far end, Zero saw one of the mightiest reploids he'd ever see in his life, a veritable reploid-titan, clad in white armor with lines of purple at his joints. The mountain of a reploid stood so tall that Zero could not see much past his strong barrel chest, and the roof of the cavernous room hung only a few feet from his crown.

"Presenting Megaman Zero, the Flare Star, Grand Champion of the Resistance Against Neo-Arcadia, your majesty," said the siren. Zero had never heard his name embellished with so many titles. "Honored guest," she glanced at Zero with her captivating dark eyes, "the Reploid Adonis, Megaman Beelzebub, the Evening Star, King of Neo-Babylon."

The king then leaned forward ever-so-slightly to lock eyes with his guest and acknowledge him, then signaled his chancellor away, "Kiku, leave us," he spoke in a deep, booming voice that echoed in the warehouse-like throne room. They both watched her leave; then two blue drones took her place standing guard at the entrance.

Which reminded Zero, "I've seen your drones at work, you must be proud of yourselves," the red reploid then caught another drone stealing a glance at him, "so tell me, are you making drones with souls now?"

"Ha!" the giant laughed at the thought, "the days of the Repliforce are long behind us," Repliforce had been the first army of Reploids in 21XX. He approached the drones at the door; his massive footsteps sent shockwaves through the floor as he moved his 10-ton frame. The king of Neo-Babylon squatted down close to the drone's level; then pinched its chin between his thumb and index finger. He could have crushed its head like the tiniest bug, and the drone could sense this, "Instead we program them different personalities and logic for self-preservation." Beelzebub swatted the drone to the ground with the back of his hand, and the guardian quickly stumbled over itself to get back on its feet.

"And, of course, you program them to be loyal to you." Zero assumed.

"No," the reploid titan corrected him, "they have enough commonsense to not make an enemy of a Megaman."

There's that title again.

At the end of the Maverick Wars, the United World Government was at their rope's end over the salvageable status of the planet Earth. The relentless wars of their creations had raped the land and atmosphere of the world. Their final hope was a mass migration into the stars, Neo-Exodus. And so, to prevent chaos from consuming what was left of the human's mother planet, Earth was divided into twelve sectors, and eight of the world's most powerful Reploid leaders were named wardens of Earth, the Megaman Consortium. Eight Megamen whose job it was to preserve and restore the Earth.

The colossal reploid then strode back across the room, and sat on a throne of polished silver that Zero could not have seen before behind Beelzebub's enormous structure. "As you can tell, we were expecting you, Megaman Zero," the king leaned forward resting one arm on his knee, "you came at an important time."

It was then the red reploid noticed the monarch's glorious golden fist, it was an ornament, he deduced, to take the place of the ruler's real hand or blaster. "If you were expecting me, then you should know why I'm here," Zero declared, "give me back Middy so I can be on my way."

"There are bigger matters at hand than just your friend, Megaman Zero," said the king, and the crimson reploid's distrust of the titan increased but quickly deflated as Beelzebub finished his statement, "you see the freedom of all reploids is threatened."

That promptly obtained the notice of the legendary hero, "Go on."

The reploid titan leaned in close, what he was about to tell the resistance champion could have been the biggest secret in the world, "I believe that one of the Megamen is the Alpha and Omega."

At the start of the 22nd century, Reploid Anti-Human Fanaticism began to spread like a virus across the world. They sermonized that humans were in the way of reploid advancement, and that the human government planned to keep reploids bonded like their robot ancestors. The Anti-Human Zealots, sometimes called "Mavericks," ravaged the world with their crusade, and their rebellions were a precursor to the Maverick Wars. Their head was a mad, but brilliant reploid military strategist named Sigma. The Anti-Human regime remained a constant threat until the end of the Maverick Wars when they were defeated. The Mavericks disappeared underground, but vowed someday to return. Since then, rumors of Maverick covens have been circulating the media every decade or so, along with ominous prophecies about the return of the Maverick Alpha and Omega.

Sly Megaman Beelzebub saw how he had peaked the resistance hero's interest, and called him closer as he continued. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Megaman Zero. I can grant your Resistance asylum in Neo-Babylon, and together we can expose the truth."

"And what's that?" Zero wondered.

"That Megaman X is a Maverick."

Standing before the Megaman Colossus, the legendary reploid was vexed. Could X be a Maverick? And what about his offer, do I have the right to take it? Zero continued to battle in his mind until he reached a reasonable conclusion. The rebel hero did not have the authority to commit the Resistance to Beelzebub's tempting offer; if he did he may as well grab the reigns and rally the hoard himself. Instead he asked his host concerning the more immediate matter at hand, looking up at the king he asked, "Where is Middy now?"

"That can wait 'till later," said the king, slamming his golden fist aggressively on his throne, sworn and determined to obtain Zero at his side, "we have damning evidence of a secret Maverick meeting."

Becoming steadily displeased and suspicious of the reploid titan, the golden haired warrior adamantly retorted, "If you're going to prove it, prove it! But tell me where you've hidden my friend first."

Beelzebub let out a low, annoyed growl, then squatted down close to the rebel reploid's level, "Your friend was ripped apart by a hail of X-Drone bullets," he coldly informed him, "our top technicians are putting him back together, shard by shard."

Shard by shard, eh?

With a push of a button on the armrests of his throne, the king called for his four councils, four other reploids he called "Faust, and the three Gentlemen."

Upon seeing the four Reploids, mistrust washed over Zero. Faust was a reploid he had never seen before, clad in a brilliant white armor, which if not for the blue trim on the edges of his armor, would have been lost inside the fortress' White Sea. His face was hidden behind a matching white helm with a singular slit for his steely blue eye.

The first Beelzebub's trusted Three Gentlemen was Blazin Flizard, a passionate humanoid reploid with clay colored skin and black hair. Zero had retired him siz months ago, and with his last words Flizard had cursed reploid legend to burn in the depths of hell. Changed since his own visit to the pit of fire, the headstrong gentleman courteously stood at the command of his new master.

The legendary reploid had killed the second one as well, a sexy reploid seductress that tried to lure the crimson hero into an endless, dreamless sleep. An alluring evil temptress named Kyubit Foxtar with shiny, gold blonde hair and white skin.

The last member of the Gentlemen was assassin aristocrat, upon seeing him again the blood colored reploid overflowed with silent, seething rage. Helbat Silt was a cold and calculating monster that sharpened his claws with a genius for information gathering. His soul, if one could pretend it existed, was the blackest all-consuming-nothing that the only reason his clothes still appeared white was because the color gripped on to the fabric with all its might. And he stood there, once again, leering piercingly with his thoughts all filled with malice at the hunter who had slain him.

Together, the three had been part of Weil's Numbers, a band of eight super-advanced Reploids so akin to real humans that they were nearly indistinguishable.

It didn't take long for the vampire hunter to piece the silent attacks together, quickly drawing his weapon, charging his blaster, ready to eliminate the resurrected killer.

"Halt!" Beezebub spoke, "There is no need for that."

But Zero refused to put down his riffle pointed at what he was positive was a monster, ready to burst from his rusty copper chains.

The reploid titan leaned forward, towards his trustees, "They, too, know not to make an enemy of a Megaman."

The red reploid knew it was true from the faces of Weil's Numbers full of embarrassment and shame. They knew that Zero had destroyed them twice before, and even if they believed they stood a chance against the legendary hero, they knew Beelzebub would crush them.

"Heh," Zero scoffed lowering his weapon slightly, looking up at the King of Neo-Babylon, "That doesn't change the fact that you've been experimenting with Reploid DNA!"

"How is resurrecting the dead any different from cloning, eh, Copy Zero?"

"So, they've told you everything, have they?" The red reploid admired the gall of the steel colossus, who responded with a kingly nod.

Once it was established that Weil's Numbers were placid, and at the mercy of their new master, Faust and the Gentlemen presented their findings. Distorted radio signals and decrypted messages made mention of Neo-Arcadia's leader and a "New World Order" on the march.

--- --- ---

The year is 22XX, and on a windy, moonless night, the legendary maverick hunter stood before an angry sea. Beelzebub had given him a S4-M3 "Shark" Class jet-cycle, the cutting edge of Neo-Babylon transportation technology that would rocket Megaman Zero to Neo-Pandemonium in a matter of minutes like a well aimed torpedo. Nodding "good-bye" to the reploid titan and his three gentlemen, the resistance champion laid down on his jet-cycle, gripped the handles tightly, and blasted off, cutting across the torrential waters as swiftly as a red lightning bolt on a stormy night.

Neo-Pandemonium was a tangled mass of steel floating in the ocean, a wasteland covered in an eternal lightning storm. It was considered "the-land-of-no-return," and the fabled gate to the Cyber World. It wasn't always like that, though. In 20XX, Neo-Pandemonium was a giant metropolis floating in the Pacific Ocean. It wasn't called Neo-Pandemonium either, not until after the fall, back then it had a different name that has since then been forgotten, but the last surviving book from that era calls it, "The River of the Gods."

As a rampantly growing metropolis, the small island nation was eventually engulfed by cities leaving no place to go but up. Gigantic "Space-scrapers," pushed against the sky above the River of the Gods built by native Reploids.

The River of the Gods was home to an extinct design of Reploids called "The Servants of the Sakura." Still defined as "Soldiers of Crystal," the Servants of the Sakura had one distinct design difference: they wore their crystal hearts on the outside. This allowed a Reploid to die at the whim of its creators, and slip into death as smoothly as the leaves of the extinct Sakura tree, indigenous to the River of the Gods. The Servants built for their masters the grandiose space-scrapers that kissed the face of heaven.

Accounts of the fall are inconsistent, only one thing is certain, since all accounts concur, and that is that not single Servant was spared. The few survivors, all of them ordinary Soldiers of Crystal that were visiting the River of the Gods, regaled researchers with colorful tales of what supposedly happened during the fall. The common thread present in all chronicles is that Neo-Pandemonium fell because of the supernatural, "green-ghostlike fire," "water, black like death," and a "red lightning bolt," that came down from the heavens and jumped from servant to servant, eviscerating them.

After a bumpy, but uneventful landing, Megaman Zero stood in the archways of the long forsaken River of the Gods like a single ant amongst a junkyard heap. Instantly, he felt the effects of the electrical storm on his systems, and began to shake uncontrollably. It took all his will to march deeper into Hades, reminding himself that he not only did it for his friend in need, but because the freedom of all reploids was threatened, somewhere in the darkest pits of Neo-Pandemonium, dwelt the answers that he searched for.

Zero hiked carefully across the rusty steel walkways and crumbling concrete huddled down with his arms clinging tightly to his chest. He had to remain completely alert to his surroundings if he didn't wish to become a permanent resident. Electricity was jumping from peer to peer all around him, deadly lightning bolts could kill him instantly or leave him alive and in pieces asking for death.

Narrowly escaping destruction, the legendary hero tumbled into the rusty mouth of a dilapidated grotto. "Shelter," he thank whoever it was he thanked for his good fortune. His cavern didn't look to be in much better condition than the rest of Neo-Pandemonium, the walls were porous and rusted, and probably electrified as well. The rain which poured into the cave created a small river that flowed deeper into the darkness. This water must be running somewhere, he thought and decided to delve further into the underground river.

--- --- ---

After an undeterminable amount of time wading through the underground river, the red reploid had gotten enough distance between him and the electrical storm to activate his sensors. He was chest deep in slightly electrified water, the only light that leaked into the underground river was barely enough to power his night-vision. The walls were no longer electrified, and rubber coated wires hung over his head. He spotted a rusted iron door sitting by the bay and swam towards it. Zero did not know what to expect behind the door, maybe a coven of Mavericks, perhaps Beelzebub had betrayed him, or the door cloud be holding back more water, conceivably. He did not get to find out as a blunt object struck him unconscious.

--- --- ---

The red reploid awoke some time later in a daze. His head hurt; at the same time, his arms and legs were bound, bolting him down onto an inescapable steel platform. Try as he might, he could not break free. A blinding light ignited and shone down from above, so bright he could hardly stand to look directly at it. The rest of the room was pitch-black. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a shadowy figure emerged from behind the black curtain holding a slim, polished blaster.

"Phantom!" the legendary Maverick Hunter struggled with is bonds, while his captor's vile grin grew even wider. Yet another ghost from his past that had resurfaced, Phantom had been a loyal guardian of X in a past life, and now the grinning demon stood vigilant, his eyes locked onto Zero struggling in his shackles. "Tell me what you're planning!"

"Who said I'm planning anything?" Phantom answered slyly, the ghost kept his weapon pointed squarely at his captive, then with a secret trigger propped golden haired warrior to eye-level, and added "Maybe I'm God, and this is your judgment day," all the while still beaming maniacally.

"I don't think the universe is that poorly designed, do you?" Zero spat. Phantom retreated slowly, still keeping the red reploid in the path of his blaster, until half of his body had merged with the darkness.

"Or, maybe, I'm just a figment of your imagination." with that, the specter vanished completely into the darkness. Zero took a second to ponder what he had said; it was out of the ordinary to see a ninja-like reploid like Phantom using a blaster. Moments after the ghost had vanished, a new foreboding evil passed through the curtain of black. A spherical probe floated closer to the red reploid.

--- --- ---

Zero awoke several hours later in a heap. He quickly rose to his feet and scanned the surrounding area with his night-vision, but not a speck of light was present, his sensors showed only darkness. Stranded in yet another place he did not recognize, the resistance hero struggled to asses his situation. Trapped in darkness, with only a strange calm humming that seem to come from all around him.

He took a step forward, felt himself loosing his balance, and then fell to the floor with a clatter. The tiniest sparks flew as his body crashed on to the ground, just enough light to power his night-vision. What he saw was a shock to his systems, he was now completely naked. As naked as a reploid could ever get, his captives had removed his armor and then proceeded to peel off his synthetic-skin, leaving a thin, skeleton-like reploid in his place. The humming was the sound of his own cooling system which he had never heard without a doctor's help.

An uneasy feeling washed over him as he came to the realization. He felt much colder all of a sudden, and was overcome with a feeling of numbness, without his skin he could only feel where the frigid air curved passed his raw exposed circuits.

The lights suddenly came on again, blinding him, just as a score of reploids beamed in. The naked young rebel darted his eyes from side to side gazing at the auditorium of skinless, skeletal observers. Zero lifted himself off the floor, then stumbled towards the gawking crowd, only to collide with an invisible ray shield. "Let me outta here, damn it!" he tried to shout, but only blue sparks escaped his mouth.

As they watched him struggle, the crowd of onlookers began to chirp unintelligible ramble, a chant of a discarded language that was never meant to be spoken called "binary." The mantra the skinless spectators recited translated, "Monster! Monster! Monster!"

Their captive continued to bang against the shield, trying in vain to break free. If they'd of had their skin, Zero would have clearly seen their vicious grinning at what was about to occur as four black tentacles slithered out from beneath his feet. The menacing black snakes swam ever closer, the imprisoned reploid nearly jumped at the sight of them.

Zero looked hastily for a weapon, but found none at hand. Cornered, he ripped a steel panel from the floor. He struggled, wrestling the tentacles that intended to rip him limb from limb, and more enemies slithered from the hole he had made. Until, finally, he pinched a feeler between him and the ray-shield and with the steel panel cleaved it in two. The severed tentacle spewed inky-black blood and the other limbs writhed with pain. Suddenly, he felt the force-field dissipate and the skeletal observers' comments sounded panicked.

A handful of skinless reploids circled the captive hero, and then swarmed him, wrenching from his hand the makeshift weapon that fell with a clatter in the unexpectedly silent auditorium. Oath-sworn acolytes held the ex-Maverick Hunter steady as an offering for their lord of the pit. The black tentacles now gripped the floor and Megaman Zero came to a terrorizing realization, whatever was down there, it was coming up.

His actions became erratic, he thrashed in the arms of his captives and breathed in and out uncontrollably, it was an emotion he never felt before, sheer terror. Without his weapons, without his armor, or his skin, thousands of miles from anyone he knew, the old reploid could actually die. Zero turned towards the druid holding his right arm, and as it screamed more curses at him in binary and the Pit-Lord continued his steady climb with crushing sounds of twisting steel, temporary dementia overtook the legendary hero as he realized, I have to kill them, before they can kill me!

He let loose a stream of sparks as he tried to scream, and in a moment of weakness, one druid loosened his grip, then with a single swift motion Zero clamped his hand around the throat of another skeletal drone and ripped its head from its artificial spine. Tossing its beheaded corpse onto the on-looking crowd, the insane rebel proceeded to dismember any reploid within his reach then use its limbs to strike at his next victim.

Frightened reploids opened the exits and flooded out of the room, trying to escape the maverick Zero. Still fearing for his life, the erratic young reploid dashed towards the door leaving behind an exhausted orgy of twisted metal in his wake. The legendary hunter dashed as fast as his bare feet could take him, devastating any drone that stood in his way without prejudice. He did not leave to chance encountering the Pit Lord, whose tentacles were swimming steadily towards him.

Running for what seemed like hours inside the cultist maze-like temple, eradicating his enemies and keeping away from the black feelers that always seemed one step behind, the desperate reploid returned to his senses as he spotted the torrential rain of Neo-Pandemonium. Still gasping for air, he made another realization; he needed coverings to shield his naked frame from the water and sea-air. Turning quickly, he retreated, dashing back towards the last drone he mutilated who he remembered wore a cultist cowl and cape.

Pilfering the clothes from the scrapped skeletal reploid, still dripping with oil-blood as he tied it on, the desperate hero continued his escape, narrowly avoiding the reach of the dark lord. Zero leapt onto the twisted spires growing outside of the temples' exit clinging to his precious robe. His jet-cycle was hundreds of yards away, and so began his dangerous flight across the twisted remains of the River of the Gods.

Rain and wind and weather filled his trek with peril at every stop as the heavens above tried to strike him dead. Lightning crashed as he jumped to the ground and the night became day for only an instant as the sound of thunder rolled passed the robed reploid. Zero continued to dart over and under the blasts of electricity as they crossed his path, unafraid of the lethal lightning bolts, nothing could stop him escaping the island.

As he approached the shores, the legendary Zero could not have been more desperate, hunting for his shark-cycle to complete his escape. To his sorrow, the tide had taken his vehicle out to sea and the exhausted reploid was faced with a leap of faith. There was no turning back for Zero, the distant sound of twisting steel was a grim reminder of monster he did not dare face. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, the robed reploid leapt towards the ocean.

When he flew through the air, his life did not flash before his eyes, tender images of the people he loved didn't come to mind, nor did his promise to Ciel echo in his ears, there was only the noise of the angry ocean and the wind rustling inside the blood laced cloak.

Zero landed safely on the jet-cycle which rocked like a cork in the ocean. Then, as if to give the hero one last warning to never return again, a lighting bolt fell from the sky and struck the reploid's left leg. He tried to scream as his leg exploded with a hail of metal shards; the detonation left his leg destroyed from the knee down. Zero gripped the handle of his shark-cycle and rocketed away.

Neo-Pandemonium, the River of the Gods, eighty years ago, it was a paradise, today in 22XX it is a treacherous mire of concrete and steel. In a place where light does not reach, a new type of creature is growing. The lighting storm warns voyagers to stay away, unless they want a chance to glimpse the unthinkable. As he narrowly escapes, the hero acknowledges one thing; somewhere, veiled in darkness, sleeps a monster which made him run. On a dark and stormy night, the demon's nest floats ominously.

-----

Several miles off the shores of Neo-Babylon, a pack of drones collect a wayward vehicle floating in the water. Clinging to the vehicle, the drones discovered a naked reploid who behaved much like a frightened animal. A quick scan of the skeletal reploid identified that it was in-fact their long awaited visitor.

Steadfast, the loyal cell of drones shipped the unconscious wanderer into the care of Neo-Babylon's royal technicians. And then began the long reconstructive process, rebuilding his shattered leg, torn cyber-muscles, fixing cavities and restoring his circuits tarnished by the sea-air. Finally, refitting the legendary hunter for a new synthetic skin, and replicating every detail of his former body, down to every strand of hair on his blonde head. All made possible by Neo-Babylonian technology and the personal information they stole when he connected to the Forum.

--- --- ---

In a white room deep inside Neo-Babylon's fortress capital, the golden haired warrior lay unconscious on a technician's table dressed only in a white cotton robe. His nurse, the nation of sin's chancellor, Kiku sauntered in and perched herself near Zero's bedside, then with a push of a button on a polished steel controller, shot a jolt of power into Zero's artificial spine, resurrecting the legendary hero.

The young reploid's eyes shot open when he suddenly awoke in the white hospital room. A common chill spread through his body and Zero shivered in his familiar naked skin. The rebel leader gave his arms a once-over, feeling reunited with a lost friend, drinking in the subtle details with his eyes until the dark-haired siren called for his attention.

"Megaman Zero," she glided towards the door, "the king waits for your report," then beckoned him with her enthralling eyes. The legendary hunter nodded, and then stumbled to his feet as he readjusted to his body.

Having been in critical condition before, the golden haired warrior knew what came next. The enchantress led Zero into a small shower-like alcove, where the young reploids dropped his white robe and in an instant was clad in a flawless reconstruction of his familiar red armor. The chancellor, silently bewildered by the beautiful hero, led the red reploid to the king's cavernous chambers.

Sitting on his silver throne, the reploid titan gave a kingly nod at his visiting Resistance ambassador. Zero approached the throne; while the chancellor positioned herself beside the king. "Megaman Zero," his booming voice echoed in the yawning chamber, "what did you find?"

The red reploid locked eyes with the Megaman Colossus, his steely eyes unflinching, "Deep below the surface of the island, there's a cult of skinless reploids."

"Go on."

Zero stammered for what more to say, "I got no evidence, but they were there planning who-knows what." When the brave hero finished, Faust and the Three Gentlemen filed into the chamber and joined the chancellor at the side of the king. While Faust and the other members of Weil's Numbers stood silent, the Hellbat beamed with a cleaver smile.

"Why don't you tell the King" Hellbat stepped down from the king's side and began to slowly circle Zero, "whatever else you're trying to hide?"

The red reploid did not trust the resurrected vampire whose tone of voice always implied he knew more than he let on."What would you know about that?" the blood colored reploid retorted.

The Hellbat snatched a slim, white digital display that they called a 'window' from under Foxstar's arms and held it high towards the king. "My interceptor findings say you were scared for your life!" the sly vampire announced.

Zero grew steadily angrier with the bat circling him, "What 'interceptors'?"

"Nano-interceptors," Hellbat answered nonchalantly, "I placed them on your cycle so they'd jump onto your body."

"Micro-machines, each smaller than a living cell, that record your neural impulses. We purged them, before rebuilding you." Kyubit Foxstar, second of Weil's Numbers, cleared things up.

"I'll bet," the hero spat. The reploid titan still awaited Zero's full confession and leaned closer on his sterling silver throne. There was no use trying to hide the truth any more, "That cult wasn't just a hive of disgruntled reploids, they were breeding some new creature."

"What was it?" the king queried.

"Dunno," Zero nodded his head, "I didn't see it head on. But it had twelve strong feelers that it used to stalk it prey. Then, as it climbed, it clawed the walls with a force you cloud feel all over the island."

"And those reploids, would you call them, 'Maverick'?"

"Undoubtedly," the legendary hunter answered without hesitation, "Nevertheless," he exclaimed, "I found no proof tying X to the maverick coven you accused him of!"

The great steal colossus rose slowly from his seat, towering mightily over the red armored soldier, and the golden haired warrior locked eyes with the reploid titan with unwavering resolve. "Excellent work, Megaman Zero, you are as skilled a warrior as fabled." Without provocation, the small crowd of servants at the king's feet gave their visitor a round of applause, even the sly devil-bat joined with a forced ovation. The acclaim came to a gradual end, and the king concluded, "Clearly, there are more investigations to be done."

"Clearly," Zero answered, "and now for the matter at hand…"

"Say no more," Beelzebub gave a glance to his chancellor. With a push of a button, Zero's emerald companion materialized. The reploid titan squatted down close to his guest, "I return to you your silent partner, fully restored," together the king and the visiting hero turned their eyes toward the cleaver Hellbat, "no tricks. I guarantee it."

Zero should have given a greater consideration for having Middy thoroughly inspected for nano-machines, but figured the interceptors would soon be X's problems. The red reploid's mission was all but complete; with Middy back in his possession, the legendary hunter simply had to deliver him to Neo-Arcadia. He had been through Hell, then dove deeper into the pits even devils feared to tread. "Thanks." He merely more than muttered, then began to walk away.

"Megaman Zero," Megaman Beelzebub called his attention once more, "my offer still stands. There is a place here for you and the Resistance."

The devil's temptation was nearly too alluring to refuse and perhaps things would have turned out differently in the end if he had succumbed, but Zero's answer remained the same, "You know my choice."

--- --- ---

Kiku, the Neo-Babylon enchantress, escorted the red and green pair out of Gomorrah, the fortress city. The duo was teleported from out of Gomorrah to the boarder station of the Sleeping Brit, where, as a last sign of farewell from the king, the forty-two travel secretaries came out of their offices and waved good-bye to the traveling duo. Zero and Middy entered the glowing green tunnel, and were gone.

The two travelers emerged at the other side of the wormhole in the peaceful boarder town. The legendary hunter let out a silent sigh as he set his weary eyes on the rolling cerulean skies above. Although he hadn't showed it, he had been very tired since the night that he had left. I could have died, he shut his eyes and pondered, that night, floating in the water.

Resiliency had always been one of the legendary hunter's strengths, but as the seawater lapped against his no-longer functional torso, that night, he could not help but wish to be home. Cursing the day, he'd ever set out for Neo-Babylon, as the saltwater sprayed his skinless face. He was relieved to be on his way home and turn towards his silent partner, "I'm gonna get you home, Middy. I promise you that." The emerald colored reploid only smiled and nodded.

Zero and Middy left the quiet town ridding on the red reploid's jet-cycle, heading off into their final destination. The red rocket cut across the desert, leaving only a trail of dust behind them. That last stretch of road lead towards a shimmering mirage in the horizon.

--- --- ---

Unexpectedly, Zero felt Middy tugging at his waist; instinctively he slowed to a stop and turned back towards his passenger, "Huh? What's the matter? We're not there, yet." The emerald colored reploid only smiled at his host, "Those are the domes in the distance," Zero jerked his head towards the horizon, indicating the glimmering stars of the ocean of sand, "we're, like, an hour away."

The green visitor still continued smiling, until his mouth opened, just a crack, and the visitor then yelped, "Stop."

"Huh?" Zero mumbled in disbelief, "Did you just say, 'Stop'?" The emerald reploid nodded agreeingly, which confounded the red reploid, "Can you talk again?"

"Yeah…" he answered meekly.

His confusion turned to amusement as Zero's face transformed with a content smile, "So, what do you wanna tell me."

The green reploid climbed down from the cycle, then spoke again, "I want you to go home."

"Neo-Arcadia's still miles away, how are you gonna to get there?" It quickly became clear to Zero that Middy really had been fully-restored, besides being able to talk, the emerald reploid could levitate and fly using rockets built into the souls of his boots.

Middies floated closer to the long-haired reploid, then placed his hand on Zero's shoulder, "Thank you for everything you did, I'll never forget it," he then began to float away, "but you should go back to where you want to be."

The resistance hero glanced over his shoulder to where Neo-Eden lay, the closer he was to his home, the more he felt the need to rest. "Alright, I'll go," he finally complied, his green companion waved good-bye while floating on his rocket jets like a mechanical sprite. Before he left, Zero did ask one last question, "What are you, anyway?"

The green sprite only smiled and waved, "You'll find out soon enough."

The legendary hunter could not have imagined what had gone on that crazy week. It had been so strange, that it had to have been the truth. Now, at the end of his quest, it ended nearly the same as it began.

--- --- ---

Neo-Arcadia, the fortress of the humans, sat defiantly in the harsh desert sands. The arid area was no place for life to prosper, but the ingenuity of the humans was why it was world renowned as a human paradise. The great white fortress was composed of a conglomerate of domes which housed 70 of the world's human population.

But, in actuality, the polished domes served only to white-wash the real problems Neo-Arcadia. Its government was crippled with corruption and amoral leaders, but the ignorant human citizen lived gleefully unaware. The few, elite Reploids that did know the truth, would go to great lengths to keep the shameful secret.

Locked away from where the human eyes could see, hung a dismembered reploid, who looked much like a maimed corpse. The mutilated reploid clung angrily to a life-support system in a room littered with wires and machines. Half of the synthetic skin on his face was burnt off, while his left arm had been stripped to the bare steel skeleton, and his legs and part of his torso ripped from him and replaced by tubes. The proud blue emperor stared defiantly at death, refusing to die. An embittered, spite-filled shell was all that remained of the great hero, Megaman X.

The emperor rested in his throne of wires, controlling his realm with only his mind, his right arm, and a loyal army of drones. He sat in a silent, seething rage, oh, how he longed for his body.

The door to the emperor's chambers slid open, light from the outside world poured in as his loyal guardian entered and feel to one knee, "I'm sorry to disturb you, Master X."

"What is it, Harpuia?" X replied with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Keeping his head down, the devoted green guard shared his new, "We have a visitor, sir, from the Blue Moon."

"What did you say?!" the mangled blue reploid could not believe what he heard.

"The Blue Moon, sir!" Harpuia tried his best not to stutter, "He says he has important news."

"Damn!" X cursed. The emperor did not want to be seen in his weakened state. He had always fooled the humans with holograms, but he did not dare try such a trick on an ambassador from the Blue Moon. He pondered for a minute all his options, and concluded to visit with the ambassador as quickly as he could. He sent away his guardian and asked his guest in.

When the emerald colored visitor entered, the dark rooms slowly brightened, until the light poured into every corner. Using only his will, Megaman X pulled back the carpet of wires into his gapping abdomen, then slowly forced the second stream of tubing branching from his shoulders back into his upper body. A web of cyber-muscle crawled out gradually from his shattered shoulder socket, as he forced his skeletal arm to reconstitute itself.

The ambassador was bewildered by the sight, he didn't expect the famous X to be in such a state, "What happened to you?" the emerald reploid asked.

"A freak accident," he lied, and slithered closer to his visitor, "What bring you here, Ambassador?"

The emerald reploid's face then transformed with joy, it was now the moment he prepared for his entire trip, "I've got stupendous news from the Blue Moon." he could not stand the excitement and began to pace around the white room, "We've established colonies, and things are going magnificently. So much so, we've reached another Golden Age of Exploration."

"Fantastic," Megaman X gave a strange half-smile through his half-destroyed face.

"But, that's not the real news." His voice grew ever quicker as his excitement peeked, "What we've found is life on other planets. In Gamma-3, Wodan, and about a dozen other places within sensor range."

"Fascinating, this is stupendous news."

"I'm not done yet," the emerald reploid exclaimed, "Since they got all wrapped up in 'First Contanct,' the World Government finally took the time to examine itself. There were these huge debates, until finally the verdict came out that 'all intelligent life is born with inalienable rights.'" He placed his hands on the half-destroyed shoulders of Megaman X, "We're free!"

"Free?" X lifted up his one eye-brow, "What do you mean, 'free'?"

"You're free. You're no longer a servant of the system; you're a full-fledged part of it now. Every Reploid is." he dropped his exuberant tone, and continued with a more serious pitch, "No human has the right to treat a Reploid like a second-class citizen," the emerald reploid then waltz into a corner where an access terminal awaited.

"That is earth-shaking news," he glided towards the emerald reploid who was punching buttons in the terminal, "what are you examining?"

"I'm supposed to report back the status of the Restoration Project, while I spread the news to the other nations."

"How long was your trip?" X suddenly asked.

"Three years," the messenger answered, reading over a most displeasing report, in shock he turned to his host, "This says your populations shrank to one billion. How'd you loose half-a-billion people?"

The messenger has uncovered Neo-Arcadia's secret shame, "The dome generators are leaking radiation, and affecting the humans."

"This is terrible news to report," the emerald reploid lamented.

The emperor could not let his visitor undermind the status quo, when the emerald reploid's gave X his back to try and stop and think, the blue reploid readied his functional right arm. With a single, well charged blast, he retired the innocent green reploid, who never knew what hit him. The body fell forward, his face forever framed with the surprised visage of his last gasp.

Harpiua entered when he heard the blaster shot, to find the lifeless shell of the ambassador strewn about the floor, the puncture in his back still smoking like his assassin's weapon. "Master… X…" he finally managed to stutter.

The emperor slid back towards his waiting throne of wires, "That reploid was a traitor. Get him out of my sight." And the loyal guard did as he was commanded, never questioning his liege-lord.

The year is 22XX, and Neo-Arcadia was locked in a war. The savior of humanity is X, Supreme General and Emperor of Neo-Arcadia. On a balmy summer's evening, the messenger from the starts was swiftly silenced. His message of freedom, never to reach the populace he came to liberate. His story would fade from memory and into myth, and become a part of secret history.

Fin.